Beverage cooler



y 9 I 1. BODENSTAB 2,080,598

BEVERAGE COOLER Filed April =14, 193s I INVENTOR. Bode/75322} Patented May 18, 1937 UNITED STATES BEVERAGE COOLER John Bodenstab, Detroit, Mich. Application April 14, 1936, Serial No. 74,266

3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in beverage coolers. While these coolers are primarily intended for cool storage of barrels, half-barrels and quarter-barrels of beer, it is obvious that they may also be employed for the storage of any size or type of container having any other beverage or liquid therein.

At the present time beer licenses are only granted from year to year, and, under certain circumstances, are even subject to immediate cancellation. It is therefore, in many instances, inadvisable to go to any great expense for refrlgerating equipment, but at the same time beer must be stored and served at a cool temperature.

This invention, therefore, aims, among other things, to provide a beverage cooler Which is inexpensive to manufacture; which is light and therefore readily movable from place to place; and into and from which a barrel or other container may be quickly and easily moved.

Another object of the invention is to provide a beverage cooler comprising a substantially flat base onto and from which a barrel may be quickly and easily moved; a removable vertical enclosing wall upon the base to encircle the barrel; and a removable cover upon the wall. Moreover the base, the enclosing wall and the cover are all so formed as to retain within the cooler a relatively low temperature obtained from a refrigerant placed therein in a specially shaped receptacle.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a light, cheap form of base onto and from which barrels may be moved at relatively frequent intervals without fear of the base becoming damaged; and to provide means for maintaining a substantially airtight joint at both ends of the vertical wall.

Having thus briefly enumerated some of the major objects and advantages of the invention, I will now proceed to describe an embodiment thereof with the aid of the'accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 illustrates a vertical sectional view of the invention with a barrel housed therein.

Figure 2 is a section on the line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail shown in section.

The base 1 consists of a smaller wooden disc 2 concentrically mounted upon a larger disc 3. It will be noted that these discs are preferably so arranged that the grain in the wood of one disc runs transversely to the grain of the other disc. Covering the upper and smaller disc 2 is a metal plate 4 having a downturned annular flange 5 which fits around the annular margin of the said disc. Thus the disc 2 is protected by the plate 4 and its flange 5 from. direct contact with a barrel as the latter is being placed thereon or removed therefrom.

The vertical enclosing wall 6 consists of a larger ring 1 concentrically spaced from a smaller ring 8 by means of circular spacers 9, so that, for the most part, a dead air space is maintained between the two rings both of which are prefl0 erably made of heat insulating material such as heavy cardboard. To seal each end of the wall 6 an annular collar ll] of channel section is employed. The inner and outer legs Illa and i017 respectively of these collars are in intimate contact with the inner face of the smaller ring 8 and the outer face of the larger ring 1.

The cover ll consists of a larger upper disc l2 having a smaller lower disc l3 concentrically mounted thereon. A resilient annular pad l5, consisting preferably of an inner and an outer rubber ring I51; and l5b' respectively placed contiguous to one another, is provided upon the larger disc 3 of the base I to receive the lower edge face of the annular wall 6; and a similar resilient annular pad I6 is provided upon the lower face of the upper disc l2 of the cover H to bear against the upper edge face of the wall 6. The texture and resiliency of the pads I5 and I6 should be such that the weight of the parts of the cooler above them. forces them into sufficiently intimate contact with the wall 6 to form substantially air tight joints.

In order to maintain a low temperature within the cooler I provide a fiat container ll open at the top and having a portion of its vertical wall conforming to the curvature of the inner ring 8 but spaced somewhat therefrom when centrally disposed within the cooler. This receptacle is filled with ice and placed upon the top of the barrel A. The curved wall portion Ila of the container preferably extends through more than degrees so that its lateral movement upon the barrel A is, to a large extent, limited by the inner ring 8 of the enclosing wall 6.

The diameter of the wall 6 and its height are sufficiently greater than that of the barrel A to permit free circulation of air around and above the latter. Through the cover I I a vertical open ended slot I8 is provided for the passage of suitable connections, such as a pressure inlet pipe B and a draw-off pipe 0. Once these connections have been attached to the barrel in any conventional manner it is obvious that the barrel contents may be withdrawn in the usual manner while the barrel remains in the cooler.

From the foregoing it will be clearly seen that I have'devised a simple and efficient cooler into and from which a barrel may be quickly moved with a minimum of effort, due to the fact that the base I, the enclosing wall 6 and the cover II are three separate units. To facilitate the handling of the wall 6 the latter is usually provided with suitable handles l9.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been described and shown, it is understood that the construction is susceptible to such alterations and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. YA beverage cooler comprising a base having a raised central portion adapted to receive a barrel and a downwardly stepped annular margin,

a removable annular enclosing wall resting upon said margin and encircling said barrel, a cover the underside of which is provided with an upwardly stepped annular margin, said margin resting upon the top of said wall, and separate means for making an airtight joint between each annular margin and the adjacent extremity of the wall.

2. A cooler comprising a base consisting of a fiat member adapted to rest upon a floor and having a flat concentric element thereon whereby an annular projecting margin is formed around said element by said member, and a plate resting upon said element adapted to support a barrel, said plate having a downtumed annular flange fitting over the edge face of the element, whereby said element and its edge face are protected during the rolling of a barrel into position upon said plate and element, a removable heat insulating enclosing wall resting upon the annular margin of said member, and a removable cover over the top of said wall.

3. A cooler comprising a base consisting of a fiat member adapted to rest upon a floor, a flat concentric element on said member whereby an annular projecting margin is formed around the element by said member, and a plate on said element to support a barrel, said plate having a downturned flange fitting over the annular edge face of the element whereby said element and its edge face are protected against damage from barrels being rolled onto the base, a removable annular wall resting upon said annular margin, said wall consisting of two spaced rings, means holding the rings in spaced relation and channel-shaped collars one around each end of the wall and having its extremities fitting over the outer side of the outer ring and the inner side of the inner ring, in combination with a removable container for a refrigerant in said annular wall, and a cover extending over the latter.

JOHN BODENSTAB. 

